tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post5883475328159479574..comments2024-02-05T09:17:53.322-08:00Comments on Adrian Barlow's blog: Ruth Etchells rememberedAdrian Barlowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04526714501872493961noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post-85437023644749727402012-12-21T14:59:35.596-08:002012-12-21T14:59:35.596-08:00This is a wonderfully characteristic account of Ru...This is a wonderfully characteristic account of Ruth's commitment to her students. I have been mpved by the response to my post about someone who touched the lives of so many other people at a key stage in their careers.Adrian Barlowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04526714501872493961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post-57110993413575972392012-12-21T13:47:22.180-08:002012-12-21T13:47:22.180-08:00I was taught by Ruth in Chester 965-1968, before s...I was taught by Ruth in Chester 965-1968, before she went to Durham. Not only was she a fantastic lecturer, but she took a personal interest in her students. My father objected to my student love, but Ruth had seen a different side of our relationship. Not only did she drive me to the College Chapel to be married, but she gave permission to use a student common room for a reception that we could not otherwise have afforded and she allowed us to use her weekend cottage in Meishafn, Wales for a weekend honeymoon. We are now approaching our golden wedding anniversary. Ruth's academic enthusiasm later encouraged me to do an MA and PH.D and by the age of thirty two I too was an English lecturer, trying to emulate her example. God Bless her. She gave me so much!Sylviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10320691456895801809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post-14236607476301331802012-09-19T11:40:08.802-07:002012-09-19T11:40:08.802-07:00Yes exactly. A teacher’s job is always to encourag...Yes exactly. A teacher’s job is always to encourage. She taught me that, too.Adrian Barlowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04526714501872493961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post-78420129618470126492012-09-19T07:42:08.720-07:002012-09-19T07:42:08.720-07:00She was such an ENCOURAGER! Where she saw potentia...She was such an ENCOURAGER! Where she saw potential she worked to bring it out and flower by giving self the confidence to work at and at the same time imagine and dream of how the gift could grow. That, at least, was my experience as a theologian who was finding a gift for poetry writing.<br /><br />Add to this her loveliness, kindness, prayerfulness and may other personal strengths. She was, I believe, a giant. 'The best woman Bishop the C of E never had' was always already in her vocation as Teacher, thinker, theologian and friend. I will always thank God for having known her.David Grievehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12184914742961193700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post-18806219224209633742012-09-03T14:32:05.611-07:002012-09-03T14:32:05.611-07:00Yes, it was one of Ruth’s strengths that her range...Yes, it was one of Ruth’s strengths that her range was so inclusive. Who else, anywhere, in the 1960s was prepared to take Christopher Fry and Harold Pinter equally seriously?<br /><br />Adrian Barlowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04526714501872493961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873009918100574338.post-50395340008609548332012-09-02T15:44:58.881-07:002012-09-02T15:44:58.881-07:00Thanks for writing this, Adrian. We, too, only lea...Thanks for writing this, Adrian. We, too, only learned of her death through an obituary yesterday, and have been remembering her wonderful lecture on Christopher Fry and ‘The Lady’s Not for Burning’. My English friends at Trevs adored her, and Ray remembers still a marvellous seminar she led on ‘Whitsun Weddings’.Jacky Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08248228611147955830noreply@blogger.com